The largest gathering yet of Pokémon Go players in San Francisco was almost a total disaster.

Up until a half hour before more than 9,000 people were supposed to begin gathering at select locations in the hometown of the viral game sensation’s developer, Niantic Labs, the servers were down.

“I was panicking,” said Natasha Asbury, a spokesmodel for Samsung who drove about 40 miles to San Francisco from Vallejo in order to attend the meetup. “I was like, I dressed cute for nothing.”

Fortunately, the servers were up and running in time for the 6pm start time, and Asbury’s Pokémon hunting outfit was indeed impressive. She and her younger brother Edwin sported T-shirts and baseball caps emblazoned with the mascot of “Team Valor” – one of three teams Pokémon Go players can join. At her belt hung homemade Pokéballs fashioned out of Christmas tree ornaments and a pale purple device that resembled a lure module – an item within the alternate reality of the game that attracts extra Pokémon to Pokéstops.

Wednesday evening’s Pokémon Go crawl began as a simple Facebook event page for friends, but it quickly went viral.

“I made this event at midnight, invited my Facebook friends, and fell asleep,” organizer Sara Witsch told Tech Crunch. “I woke up to 500 people going.” By Wednesday afternoon, more than 9,000 people had indicated they would join in the fun, and numerous local businesses had announced freebies, promotions and drink specials for participants.

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With starting points around the city and no fixed route, it was impossible to tell how many people actually participated, but the city certainly felt like it was swarming with a surprising number of exotic creatures. Though he may be well camouflaged, the Pokémon Go player is easily identifiable to the careful observer by his hunched neck, tendency to stop walking at odd intervals, and a tell-tale power cord connecting the smartphone to a battery pack in his owner’s pocket.

There were several hundred players at Pier 3 on the San Francisco waterfront before the festivities began, cheering their team affiliations, showing off their outfits, swapping tales of the hunt, and – for a few – breaking into a rousing rendition of the Pokémon theme song.

Terry Chiu, 24, was one of several to sport a Pikachu onesie. “My last name is Chiu, so … Pikachu,” he joked.

Shaquille Steinback, a self-described Pokémon obsessive, showed off a tattoo of her favorite Pokémon, Psyduck, on her calf. Steinback was one of the lucky few chosen to play the beta version of Pokémon Go, and she was thrilled that the rest of the world has finally caught on.

The highlight of the game so far for Steinback was finding a Scyther at the beach.

“Oh my God it was super way powered,” she enthused.

Kristina Gong was on the lookout for a rumored Dragonite. “One person found one in their office,” she said she had heard on Facebook. “That’s not fair!”

Around 6.30, Amy Lu shouted to the crowd that it was time to go catch some Pokémon. Lu said she was “not really” a big fan of the game, but she volunteered to help coordinate the event because she is roommates with Witsch.

“I only do it on my way to work,” she said. (Lu works at the museum on Alcatraz, the island that once housed a notorious state prison and is now inhabited chiefly by Magnemites, Voltorbs, and Meowths.) But she didn’t mind taking on a role in the Pokécrawl. “What else am I going to do on a Wednesday?”

As the crowd reached the Ferry building and prepared to head up Market Street into the heart of downtown, a strange chirping sound filled the air. Perched on a lamppost above the mass of people were two of San Francisco’s famed wild parrots.

A man mimed tossing a Pokéball in their direction. The parrots paid him no mind.